


Into This World

by carolinecrane



Series: Aftermath [24]
Category: The Brotherhood 2: Young Warlocks (2001)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-05-05
Updated: 2011-05-05
Packaged: 2017-10-19 01:03:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/195172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carolinecrane/pseuds/carolinecrane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Marcus plays amateur detective, and Harlan doesn't take no for an answer.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Into This World

_Mary's dead._

The words have been playing over and over in his head since he heard them, Matt's voice delivering the news so matter-of-factly. Like it was no big deal, like they should have seen this coming. And maybe they should have, because Luc was…whatever he was, and assuming he was gone was stupid.

Marcus is pretty sure now that Luc's back. It took him two days, but he finally found an article about Mary online, just a short piece in her local paper with a lot of phrases like 'unlawful entry' and 'unsolved crime'. He knows they're never going to solve it, just like they'll never solve the death of another girl at Mary's new school, some sophomore who died just a week before Mary did.

Just like they'll never solve Alex's death. Or Randall's. Or…

But he's not thinking about that, so he shakes his head and scans the crowd for Matt again. He's been standing here for almost ten minutes, and it's dangerous to stay in one place for too long, but he needs to tell Matt what he knows and outside the cafeteria is the best place to find him at this hour. Only every other student on campus is here now too, and Marcus knows Harlan could show up before Matt does.

He can't decide if he's hoping to see Harlan or not. He's spent the past few days avoiding him – as much as he can, anyway, considering they have most of the same classes – and it hasn't been easy, but Harlan hasn't been going out of his way to make it hard. But every time he thinks that he starts to feel hollow again, so he tells himself it's for the best and tries to shake it off.

Because Luc's back, and they don't even know what he looks like this time, what name he's going by or if he's even interested in anyone besides Jon. They don't know anything, and that means Harlan's not safe as long as he's around Marcus. And maybe he's not even safe with Marcus out of his life, but at least this way he has a chance.

It doesn't help with the dreams, but Marcus is pretty sure there's nothing that will help with those. They'd probably be even worse if he was around Harlan all the time, if he was sleeping in his bed and waking up every hour to make sure he's still breathing. To make sure he's not split down the center and bleeding the way he is in Marcus' dreams right before he wakes up in a cold sweat, panting and terrified that this is the day Harlan won't show up for classes.

It's only been two nights so far, but he knows they're not going to get any better. Knows he'll keep dreaming Harlan's death over and over until it either happens for real, or Harlan's out of his life for good. And just the thought makes him want to throw up, but he knows it's the only way.

"Hey." Matt doesn't laugh when Marcus flinches at the sound of his voice; he looks apologetic, in fact, and just as tired as Marcus, like maybe he hasn't been sleeping so well either. "Sorry."

"Forget it," Marcus answers, fishing the article he printed at the library out of his pocket and thrusting it into Matt's hand. "Look at this."

Matt unfolds it slowly, like maybe he's afraid of what he's about to see. For a minute he doesn't say anything, just reads the article from top to bottom before he finally looks at Marcus again. "What's this about?"

"That girl went to Mary's school," Marcus says. He lights a cigarette and leans against the wall, breathing in deep and exhaling before he continues. "She died a week before Mary did. Drowning."

"You mean…"

"It's happening again," Marcus finishes when Matt trails off. "Only this time I don't think Luc's going by the same name."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I think he…it…whatever…I think the demon came back as a girl. It's killing girls, probably has three girls lined up for its ritual. And it couldn't get to Jon as a guy, so maybe it figured with the right body and Mary out of the way…"

Matt grins at that, and Marcus feels himself frown. He doesn't get what's so funny, especially considering Matt was the one who came to him about Mary. But he's still smiling, looking at Marcus kind of funny and finally Marcus can't stand it anymore.

"What?"

"Nothing. I just feel like I'm on Amateur Detective Hour all of a sudden."

"Funny," Marcus mutters, rolling his eyes and reaching out to take the article back from Matt. "I just want to know what to expect."

"You mean what to look out for." Matt gives him a meaningful look and Marcus knows exactly what he's thinking, but he really doesn't want to talk about that. "So did you tell him?"

"I told you I'd deal with it," Marcus answers, voice low and he glances automatically toward the cafeteria. They shouldn't be talking about this out in the open, not where anyone – where Harlan – could overhear.

"How, by pretending he doesn't exist?" Matt rolls his eyes when Marcus looks sharply at him, eyes narrowed and he can feel the color rising in his cheeks. "Give me a break, Marcus. You two have been practically glued to each other for months, did you think nobody would notice when you started avoiding him?"

The truth is he didn't think about how other people would react. He was too busy worrying about Harlan, and about how he was supposed to see Harlan every day and keep pretending he didn't care. And that's the hard part, because they see each other all the time and Marcus catches himself forgetting and starting to say something before he remembers and forces himself to turn away.

"Look," Matt says, voice too loud and Marcus resists the urge to shush him, "he was supposed to be the fourth sacrifice. If he's still part of the plan he should know. You have to tell him."

"Tell me what?"

Marcus freezes at the sound of the familiar voice, the skin on the back of his neck crawling with it even as panic sets in. Because Harlan can't have heard much, but he heard enough, and Marcus shoves the article in his pocket as quickly as he can before he turns to face Harlan.

"Nothing."

"Don't give me that, Marcus," Harlan says, and yeah, he's definitely pissed. Marcus tells himself that's good, because as long as Harlan stays mad he won't want Marcus around. He tells himself he believes that and glances over his shoulder just in time to see Matt nod.

"I'm gonna go call Jon. Catch you later."

A second later he's gone, leaving Marcus to face Harlan alone. And it's been two days – two long, miserable days – since Harlan kissed him, since he tried to talk Marcus into staying in California. At the time Marcus wanted to say yes, came so close it still makes his heart skip a beat to remember, but now…now everything's different.

"You wanna tell me why you've been avoiding me for two days?" Harlan asks, taking another step forward and it's all Marcus can do to stand his ground. Because Harlan smells way too good, and he looks…God, strong and solid and Marcus knows exactly what that body feels like against him, and he knows he can't handle this.

"I've been busy," he says, but it sounds weak even to him and he knows Harlan's not buying it.

"Busy with Slayton?"

This isn't how he wants to do this. He doesn't want to do it at all, but he doesn't have a choice. Not if he wants to keep Harlan out of this whole mess, to keep him away from Luc or whatever he's calling himself these days. Not if he wants to keep Harlan alive. He doesn't have a choice, and it's not that hard to tell Harlan what he thinks he already knows.

"Look, it was fun," he hears himself say, the words hollow and flat and he knows Harlan's not going to buy it, "but Matt and I…we go way back."

For a few seconds Harlan just looks at him, expression dark and Marcus can't tell if he's buying it or if he's trying to decide whether or not to laugh in Marcus' face. He can't _believe_ it, not after everything that happened. Not after all those nights in Harlan's bed, after the afternoons spent arguing over nothing or stretched out together in Marcus' room, pretending to study when all they were really doing was trying not to touch.

He has to know how Marcus felt – how he feels – even though he never said it. And he's glad now that he didn't, because he'd never be able to take that back and make Harlan believe it.

"So that's it. Just like that," Harlan says, his voice too loud in the silence and Marcus has to swallow hard before he can answer.

"Yeah. Just like that."

He's not sure how long they stand there; just a few seconds, probably, but it feels like time stops and he knows any second he's going to break and beg Harlan to forget everything he said. He could tell him the truth, pour out the whole story and then either Harlan will hate him or not, but at least he'll have a good reason. And he wants to say it, to tell Harlan everything before he has time to think about what he's doing, but before he can get the words out Harlan's leaning in close, breath hot against Marcus' neck and it's all Marcus can do not to turn until their mouths are pressed together.

"I don't think so, Marcus," he whispers, mouth brushing Marcus' skin and sending a hot shiver down his spine. "I'm not done with you yet. Tell Slayton to watch his back."

A second later he's pulling back, and Marcus has to ball his hands into fists so Harlan won't see his fingers shaking as he walks away.


End file.
